114. Live in gratitude

In Moses' last speech, he warns the Israelites of several things and one of the things that he explicitly warns them about is:

"The land God gives you is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper abundant in the hills. When you have eaten your fill, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in you plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey His commands, regulations, and laws." Deuteronomy 8:9-11

Moses warned them to still follow God, even when things go well. It is such an interesting human characteristic that seem to jump out when things go too well. There are several examples in the Bible. For one, the Israelites didn't listen to Moses. The moment they settled and enjoyed their wonderful land, they started to back slide and soon enough they were worshipping the idols of the pagan nations around them. Another example is when David was firmly settled as king over the nation with a strong military and sound economy, that he didn't listen to God and committed adultery and murder. At the height of his rule, he experienced the low in his spiritual life. And let's not forget Solomon. Solomon literally had it all, wisdom, wealth, peace, servants, women etc. But he fell to a spiritual low, because he loved his wives too much and allowed them and the nation to worship their different gods, resulting in God tearing the kingdom in half after Solomon's death.

And today it is no different. It is clear to see that it is difficult for people to stay humble and focused on God when they can have anything they want. It is difficult to trust God for anything when you can just buy it yourself. It is difficult to trust God for your health, when you are surrounded by the best medical expertise. It is difficult to trust God for advancement in your career, when everything just falls in your lap. It is difficult to consult God about anything, when you are blessed with wisdom and superior intellect. It is difficult.

But we need to learn from the mistakes of the Israelites and realise that ALL we have are from God. Sure we work hard, but He gives us the ability to do just that. He is the One in charge over our lives and we should give all glory to Him. At the height of our prosperity we should humble ourselves before Him and give Him all our praise. We should live with gratitude in our hearts and never ever become proud. We should spend time with Him and seek His face in all we do. Our careers, our lives, our health, our dreams are all in His hands and it is a safe place to be.

Thank you Lord for looking after us. Thank you that we can know that our paycheque doesn't come from our employer, but from You. Thank you for Your blessings. We live in gratitude for all You are doing in our lives. We praise You. Amen

 

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